William minster



nitrh tstrs gstent @ffim Letters l.Patent vNo. 80,495, dated July 28,1868.

IMPROVED GRPBT-STRETGHER.

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TO v.ALL WHOM IT MAY (QONCERNrl Be it known that I, WXLLIAMMINSTER, ofWashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Carpet-Stretchers; .and do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon. V

The nature of my Vinvention consists in a device for .stretchingcarpeta.so that they can easily be tacked down close to the walls. i l 4 `Inorder to enable others skilledv inthe art to makeand use my invention, Iwill now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referringto' the annexed drawings, whichform a part of thispspecication, and inwhich- A" Figurel is a plan view,

Figure 2 a sideview, and

Figure 3 an inside viewV of the sliding box.

A represents a ratch-bar, made of'suitable material, and provided at oneend with a Harige, a, on its upper side, and with one or more sharppoints b on its lower side.- .l

B vis a box, formed Vof twol plates, fastened together by screws, or inany., other suitable manner, which encloses said ratch-bar, and slidesover the same.

Inside of this box B is a pinion, H, whichworks in the ratch-bar A, andis turned by means of the crank C and the shaft or'bolt D, which latterpa'sses through said box, and through the pinion. By this means the boxB can be moved backward and forward on the ratch-bar.

On thevfront end ofthe box BV are twoears ff, between which the clamp Eis hinged.

This clamp consists of two lipsffornfed in` any of the known and usualways for clamps, and provided with a spring e, to keep them apart.Thejaws of the clamp are corrugated, so as to hold the carpet, and theymay be lined with rubber, so as to avoid anyA danger-of tearing thecarpet. 4

The clamp is worked bymveansrofva headed screw-bolt, F, passed throughthe same from underneath, and a nut, G, on the upper side.

To use my device, place the rear end of the' ratchebar A squarelyagainst the wall, and drive thc point or 'points b b into the floor. Y

The carpetis then folded over a suiiicient distance, and placed betweenthe jaws ofthe clamp E, which are then screwed together by means of thenut G. By now turning the crank C, the box B and the clamp E are movedon the ratch-bary toward the wall, at the same time stretching thecarpet as far as may be desired.

To prevent the box B from sliding back again when the force on th` crankis removed, there isinside of 'said boxe dog-or pawl, cZ,-which is helddown between the `cogs on the pinion Hby means of a spring, e. 4'Ihispawl vmay be lifted out-of, the pinion by means of a lug, z', which isturned by the lever I' on the outside of the box.` l

Instead ol' the crank C, any other -means to move the box B on theratch-bar may be substituted, and the upper part of the shaft D may beofthe same size as the nut G, so that,whether a crank or a wheel is usedfor turning the pinion'H, the sam'e may be used to screw7 the clamp.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is- 1. The hinged jaws E E, pressedapart by means of a spring, and bound together by either a set-screw orthe headed' bolt F and its nut G, forthe purpose of firmly-holding thecarpet, substantially as herein set forth. yit. 4'In a carpet-stretcher,thel jaws E E, constructed as described, and hinged to the box B, whichslides vupon the ratchbar A, and operating as and foi-'the purposesspecified.`

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I `have 4hereunto setmy hand,Vthis 17th day of June, 1868.,

` WILLIAM MINSTER.

Witnesses A. A. YEATMAN, LnoPoLn EvERr.

